PRESS RELEASE: OCTOBER 07, 2010

TORONTO - The vast majority of workers at Loblaw-owned stores in Ontario have ratified a five-year labour contract with Canada's largest grocery company, but a small cluster of stores in the province face a strike by one of the union's locals starting Friday.

The United Food and Commercial Workers union represents a total of about 30,000 Loblaw employees in the province but the strike would only affect 1,700 members of UFCW Local 175/633 at nine Zehr's and Real Canadian stores in Essex, Kent and Lambton counties.

A spokesman for UFCW Local 175/633, which voted down the tentative agreement, said the union hopes to sit down with the employer "and have some meaningful dialogue about some geographical differences that we may have in the southwest region."

Loblaw Co. Ltd. (TSX:L) reached tentative settlements with a total of three locals of the union, including 175/633, after months of negotiations and help from a provincial mediator.

Members of Local 1000A, which represents 15,000 workers at Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstores and Great Food stores, voted 56 per cent in favour of their deal while the 10,000-member Local 1977 gave 74 per cent approval for contracts at some Zehrs, Real Canadian Superstores and Great Food stores.